I was discussing this with a friend but couldn’t find an answer online. Which one is correct? (I’m guessing both)
Give me my keys back!
or
Give me back my keys!
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1+1 because I would like to know the answer myself. – Dhanishtha Ghosh Sep 28 '20 at 17:39
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Back is an adverb and adverbs are very flexible as to where they come in a sentence but are usually close to the verb. They can usually be omitted (Try your examples without "back".)
Give me my keys back!
Give me back my keys!
Give back to me my keys! (Rather formal and requires particular context)
Give my keys back to me!
Are all possible (as are the versions without "back".)
Is "I can't put politics up with" the same as "I can't put up with politics"?
This differs as up is an adverb and part of an inseparable phrasal verb to "put up" (to tolerate) and "with" is the collocated preposition. Prepositions are usually followed by their object.
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I mean like the explanation with "back", it's all good and I also like the explanation for "put up with". But I think knowing where to split a phrasal verb is not always as easy to predict: For example, “pull your socks up“ and “pull up your socks” are both grammatical; “pull yourself together” is idiomatic, but “pull together yourself” is not. Yet up and together are both adverbs. – Mari-Lou A Sep 29 '20 at 13:35
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These posts might be of interest: How do you know that a Phrasal Verbs can be separate or not? and In phrasal verbs, why is it sometimes considered 'adverbs', and sometimes 'prepositions'? – Mari-Lou A Sep 29 '20 at 13:45
